September 7th: Lindt Excellence Ginger

Kcal 510 Fat 32.0g Fat(sats) 19.0g Carbs 50.0g (per 100.0g)

How some of these Lindt Excellence bars have escaped getting a ChocolateMission review for as long as they have I will never know!? Having tried Lindt products from all parts of the globe, its pretty amazing that there are still a few bars of theirs' that that have been readily available here in the UK that I haven't reviewed. Thankfully a few months ago, one of my most dedicated readers Phil gave me a nudge in the direction of this Excellence Ginger. Lindt's Excellence range is one of the most consistently high scoring product collections here on ChocolateMission, so I was looking forward to the giving this 'fine dark chocolate with an aromatic taste of ginger' proposition a try. For those unaware, the majority of the Lindt Excellence range that we get here in the UK is in fact produced in France.

As with most Excellence bars this came in a 100.0g format, which was lucky as a bar any smaller wouldn't have fed the mass of work colleagues that congregated round my desk once word was out that there was a chocolate bar in the office :) I needn't say much about the Lindt Excellence packaging - I have said for a long time that it looks classy, sophisticated and worthy of the Excellence branding and nothing has changed in my mind. Inside the branded silver foil wrapping the chocolate looked no different to many other of the the Lindt Excellence dark chocolate variants (See Coffee, 70%), with the thinly portioned, glossy surface further reaffirming the premium product feel.

Breaking the blocks apart two things became immediately evident - the first being the glorious, fresh snap sound at which they broke apart. The next thing to grab my attention were the wonderfully tempting spicy chocolate scents that wafted across my senses. The fragrant smells were nicely indicative of the taste, which was pleasantly forthcoming in it's cocoa flavours despite the relatively tame 47% recipe. In terms of flavour development the unsweetened cocoa flavours were nicely underpinned by influences of milk and brown sugar - even to the most sensitive of tastebuds this wouldn't be a dark chocolate that I don' think anyone could describe as bitter. In previous ginger flavoured chocolates I have reviewed, most of come flavoured using crystallised ginger, though this Excellence bar differed somewhat by choosing to integrate the ginger through natural flavourings. In the context of this bar I thought it was a wise choice, as the spiced ginger flavours were still delivered with as much vigour as any ginger chocolate I have tasted before, yet the texture of the melt was still kept consistently smooth. This wasn't the richest of dark chocolates I have ever tasted, but just a few blocks was enough to satisfy my chocolate needs.

Overall I have to hold my hands up yet again at how ludicrous it was that I hadn't reviewed this bar before now - it proved itself to be yet another gem in the crown of Lindt's Excellence range. This Excellence Ginger wasn't quite perfect (I would have chosen a stronger chocolate recipe myself! The 72% perhaps!?), but in terms of ginger flavoured dark chocolates it still has to be recognised as one of the finer options available on the market at the moment. Lindt's Excellence range is one that can really be marvelled at - it's continues to prove that it is fantastically consistent across a wide berth of flavours from mint, orange, chilli, coffee etc - seemingly the chaps at Lindt HQ France can do little wrong when it comes to producing high quality flavoured chocolates. I'm sure all fans of ginger chocolates fans would really like this and I can say that with great confidence given the rate at which my bar was hoovered up in my work office. Recommended.